character

---
name: character
description: This skill should be used when the user asks to "create a character", "develop a character", "develop the antagonist's backstory", "develop Kira", "build a character document", "revise X's character sheet", "give X a backstory", "what does X want", or invokes `/holocron:character`. Spawns the character-developer agent and produces a Want/Need/Lie/Ghost/Flaw character document.
argument-hint: "[name|revise name]"
context: fork
agent: holocron:character-developer
---

Develop a character using the `character-developer` agent. Produces a structured character document that the writer agent and reviewers can both load as context.

## What this does

1. Spawns the `character-developer` agent.
2. Conducts a Socratic Q&A to discover the character's interior shape (it's faster to discover what the user already knows than to invent from cold).
3. Produces a character document at `characters/<name>.md` with the following sections:
   - **Want** — what the character consciously pursues (the surface goal)
   - **Need** — what they actually require to grow or be whole (often the opposite)
   - **The Lie** — the false belief the character holds at the start
   - **Ghost** — the past wound that shaped the lie
   - **Flaw** — how the lie shows up as behaviour
   - **Arc trajectory** — the shape of the change (positive / negative / flat / corruption)
   - **Relationships** — to protagonist, antagonist, mentor, foil
   - **Voice samples** — representative dialogue / interior phrasing
   - **Key scenes** — the 2-3 moments that define the character's arc

## Usage

```
/holocron:character                 # Develop a new character (asks for name)
/holocron:character Sacha           # Develop a specific named character
/holocron:character revise Jennifer # Revise existing character doc
```

If arguments provided: $ARGUMENTS

## When to use this vs. inline character work

Use this skill when the character is *load-bearing* — protagonist, antagonist, deuteragonist, primary mentor, primary foil. For walk-on characters with one or two scenes, the writer agent can sketch them inline; producing a full document for everyone bloats the project and dilutes attention from the characters that matter.

## Reference

The character-developer agent reads `references/character.md` (Want/Need/Lie/Ghost/Flaw framework) and the project's `architecture.md` (so the character can be grounded in the story's central question). Era / faction context comes from `world/` and the master `knowledge/` base — relevant when, e.g., developing a Mandalorian (load `knowledge/people/` and Traviss Mando'a register) or a Sith (load `knowledge/force/sith-philosophy.md`).

## Output

Produces or updates `characters/<name>.md`. Updates `progress.md` to log the character's arc-trajectory commitment so reviewers can flag drift later.